Plymouth County Republican Party Convention Scheduled For Saturday
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Republicans will gather Saturday for their county convention. The political party convention will be held at the Le Mars Community High School inside the Little Theater starting at 12:00 noon. Karl Stodden serves as the chairman of the Plymouth County Republican party. He says voting delegates will gather and decide who will represent Plymouth County at both the district and the state Republican conventions.
Stodden says more than 50 resolutions have been submitted by the county’s republican base, but many are similar and duplicated.
The Plymouth County Republican party chair talks about the submitted platform planks that his fellow republicans will discuss and ultimately will vote on and forward to the district and state conventions.
Stodden says he anticipates seeing several political candidates may drop by the convention to introduce themselves to the county voting delegates.
Stodden says anybody is welcomed to attend the county political party convention, and he encourages youth to attend the event to better understand the political system.
The Plymouth County Democratic political party convention is scheduled for March 26th.
Pork Producers To Hold Annual Banquet
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Pork Producers will hold their annual banquet Saturday evening at the Willow Creek Golf Club. President Andy Schroeder tells of the meal that will be served.
Schroeder says the annual banquet will feature the crowning of the “Little Miss Pigtails contest” as well as the selection of the new Plymouth County Pork Queen. In addition, the newly crowned “Iowa Pork Queen” Kiley Allan of Le Mars, is expected be on hand to make an appearance, and possibly share some comments.
Schroeder says Plymouth County was recognized for many different achievements during the recent Iowa Pork Congress including Kiley Allan being named as the Iowa Pork Queen, but also Matt and Angie Schnepf were honored as Iowa’s “All-American Pork Producer.”
Plymouth County Pork Producers Association was named as one of the top five county pork organizations within the state, and was the recipient of the “County Outreach Award.” Schroeder says it was Plymouth County Pork Producers’ work with RAGBRAI that led to the state recognition.
The Plymouth County Pork Producers president says the county organization was also selected for the outreach award due to the education program directed at the students that participated in the “Adopt A Pig” program.
Schroeder says following the banquet meal, attendees will be entertained by a comedian/ventriloquist. Schroeder explains the ticket rates for the pork producers banquet.
Schroeder says he wants to thank all the members and board directors for their hard work during this past year, saying the Plymouth County Pork Producers are an active and busy organization.
Feenstra Blasts “Wasteful Spending” in Federal Budget Deal
(Washington, DC) — Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra is blasting what he describes as “pork barrel” projects in the latest federal budget deal — spending that’s been touted by the three other Iowans serving in the U-S House. The Republican from Hull voted for the part of the deal that included money for the U-S military and border security, as well as aid for Ukraine. Feenstra voted against the other part, which included money for a series of infrastructure projects. Iowa’s three congresswomen — two Republicans and a Democrat — say they sought out the bill’s spending on things like sewers, airports and child care centers in Iowa — as well as 45 million dollars to improve Mississippi River locks and dams near Elkader. Feenstra says the spending is excessive and will fuel inflation and add to the national debt.
Turkey Farmers on Edge as Bird Flu Discovered in Buena Vista County
(Ames, IA) — The confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County has increased the anxiety among poultry producers. Morgan Minnehan (Minn-nuh-han), spokesperson for the Iowa Turkey Federation, says the devastating bird flu outbreak in 2015 led to the deaths of thousands of birds at a cost of one BILLION dollars. She says prevention measures have stepped up since that outbreak. Turkey production is big business in Iowa — the state ranks seventh nationwide in turkey production and fifth in processing, with most of the turkeys used for lunch meat and other turkey products. Minnehan says turkey producers are limiting access to farms, washing truck tires, and doing intense cleaning and sanitization of equipment and work boots to try and prevent the spread of the disease.
Southern Iowa School District Still Closed from Hail Damage
(Orient, IA) — Classes are still suspended at a school district in southern Iowa after last weekend’s storms caused heavy hail damage. The Orient-Macksburg Community School District is planning to resume in-person classes after spring break. K-C-C-I Television reports that hail the size of tennis balls and baseballs were spotted by their viewers in Orient. The town is southwest of Winterset, which took the brunt of an E-F-4 tornado that killed six people there.
Viking River Cruises Schedules Stops in Dubuque
(Dubuque, IA) – A new 386-passenger ship is set to begin cruising up and down the Mississippi River this year, and Dubuque will be one of its regular stops. K-C-R-G Television reports the city has signed a 20-year agreement with Viking River Cruises to be one of the ports of call for the state-of-the-art Viking Mississippi. Dubuque assistant city engineer Bob Schiesl says the city will build a one-point-eight-million-dollar docking bay near Grand Harbor Resort and Water Park to accommodate the giant river cruise ship. Construction is expected to begin this spring or early summer. Viking Mississippi passengers will also be provided with free tickets to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, located in the Port of Dubuque.
